Beyond Limbo's Looking Glass
by Alitolexlto
Summary: Sometimes our memories can be our way of relief. But for Alice, these memories are nothing more but her own personal hell that she can't seem to escape. But will all that change when an old Nephilim friend with a smart mouth aids her on her mad journey? You'd be as mad as a hatter not to find out.


**BEYOND LIMBO'S GLASS**

**Hello all of you! Alito here, deciding to start this for a bit. I was skimming through Deviantart, and low and behold I found this awesome picture of Dante (DmC) and Alice from Alice Madness returns, and so I think "Holy shit that would be an awesome fanfic idea!" And so, this was born. I doubt I'll have much time to continue it, but tell me what you guys think of it for its first chapter. **

**So anyway, this will take place after DmC (Dante's got his white hair and all just like the picture) and at the beginning of Alice Madness returns.**

**So here we go! Through the looking glass!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF THIS. DmC and American McGee's Alice BELONGS TO THEIR ORIGINAL OWNERS. PICTURE USED AS AVATAR IS ALSO NOT MINE. THE ART BELONGS TO Fuugen OF Deviantart.**

** art/Alice-vs-Dante-401324874**

**/\**

**Chapter 1: Words Dancing on Words**

* * *

The slow clanging of the grandfather clock slipped the hours away in the inner darkness that was the mind. It tethered ever so loudly through her mind, and threatened to subconsciously engulf her very sanity. Among this was the dimly appearance of a single skeleton key, rusted through time and smudge with blood. But suddenly, this key returned to its darkness and in its place appeared a red jeweled necklace, glowing an eerie shade of red in its wake.

"Come now Alice…it's only a dream."

The voice sounded throughout her mind and within seconds, an array of pocket watches appeared before the darkness, ticking ever so vexingly—echoing soundly in her thoughts.

"It's not a dream…it's a memory…and it's making me sick…!"

The darkness slowly awakened to a shadowy room, illuminated by the fireplace. Inside, she saw herself, a young girl, siting at the other end of a strange older male with a top hat, and a strange get up. She didn't know why, but…the more she saw this image…the more stranger she felt.

"You're simply dreaming again, Alice. Floating in your memories…relax…focus."

The slow illumination dissipated with nothing but a flow of cards flashing around her and creating strange majestic images to appear…but that quickly turned into a burning fiery hell as she bared witness to the fiery battlefield of creatures slaughtering each other. But only half were creatures while the others were almost human beings, but with beauty too perfect to be human. Their wings glowed gracefully into battle as these two beings battled to the bloody death.

In the mist of all this, there was a single man, tied in chains, screaming in absolute pain and suffering with no hope of escape. Was he a prisoner? Was he like the beautiful beings, or the horrid creatures?

"Fire…! I-I'm in Hell!"

"Abandon that memory! Focus. Slowly drift…drift to Wonderland…"

"I can't…my past traps me…"

The darkness once again shrouded the world of her mind. The slight sound of children's laughter sounded like a distant breeze across her ears. But that darkness grew in light; the scent—a burning smoke, matched with a painful excruciating feeling overcoming her body. The sound of voices rang through her mind, all jumping atop one another to understand clearly. But there was more to it than those…images…of those creatures returned to her sight, and the burning continued as an entire house was engulfed in flames…but amongst these flames, a small family only waved…why? Why did they wave? Did they not know their fate if those flames engulfed them as well?

"No…discard this illusion…return to Wonderland, Alice…"

Soon the frolicking of fish leaped forward as the darkness cleansed into the bright sunny day of a nearby river bank. The majestic river flowed freely across the babbling brook with a make-shift boat sailing along. In it was they—a young girl, and a young boy. They simply enjoyed their ride, sipping tea and giggling with one another.

"No…my wonderland is dead."

"Where are you, Alice?"

"I'm…sailing…on a river bank…with another young boy…"

"What is that boy's name? Can you describe him?"

"Y-Yes…black short hair…a complexion of Caucasian…a smile on his—W-Wait…! W-What's wrong, little one?"

Suddenly, the young child seemed ill. He looked as though he would vomit as he grasped his mouth ever so violently. He fell upon the boat, shaking harshly as a river of blood flowed from his mouth. Then she saw it…that necklace again. It glowed red, as red as the blood that drenched the very boat.

"N-No! Please, don't die!"

"Who? Who's dying?"

"My friend!"

The skies became black as a darkness set in. Blood rained violently from the sky, drenching her in a maelstrom of blood. The sea turning black as strange arms reached to the surface and ripped the boat apart, dragging the now dead boy and the little girl into the dark depths of the sea.

"No! No, please! Don't!"

"Alice, calm down!"

"I can't! It's taken me! Wonderland has destroyed my inner sanity!"

"Then block that dream. Wake at the sound…1…"

She slowly felt the rough, bone hands grab at her flesh and rip it clean off the deeper she fell into the black ocean—her blood painting this black canvas of water around her and her organs leaving her in ravaging.

"…2…"

It was over…her life was being ripped off of her…and no one could save her now…darkness…had consumed her soul…

…

…

…ice…

…lice…!

"ALICE!"

That voice…

"Alice, take my hand!"

The voice was…so distant…and yet so…calming. The darkness in her eyes had vanished…the light from the sun had shinned…her body remade and complete once more…she looked to see a single hand reach into the blue waters—a gloved hand with a black sleeve of leather…she reached for it, inches away

…One…

…inch…

…closer…

"…3."

Suddenly, a flash appeared before her very sight, and her green eyes quickly swung open to the sight of a dusty old room. She was surrounded by chairs and different old items that indicated the owner being quite the traveler or collector. The windows gave the sign of an afternoon slowly coming to an end. She sat up in her lounging chair, rubbing the access sweat off her brow and brushing her hands across her raven black short hair; looking back towards the man who was helping her tackle her problem.

It was an older gentleman with a goatee and glasses. He dressed in formal clothing that was leaning on his desk.

"So then Alice, how do you feel?" The man asked.

"How do I feel? I feel like my head's exploded and there's a steam hammer in my chest." Alice replied bitterly.

"Well, that's to be expected." The man told her, "Your memories are…a strange case."

"I don't appreciate being called strange, sir."

"Of course." The man nodded as he got off his desk. He slowly strolled to his window, gazing out into the small town below. "Now tell me…this boy you saw…did he have the same necklace you saw before?"

Alice grabbed her head to think hard on this memory, forcing herself to remember those horrid images. "Yes, I do…it was an eerie red color…a jewel-like necklace of course…but there was more."

"More, you say?" The man turned slowly.

"Yes…" Alice stood up to at least let her legs stretch. "There were these beautiful human beings with…pure white wings…they were doing battle with these other savage creatures."

"It appears you've experienced hell firsthand the, dear Alice." The man said, walking to her. He placed his arms onto her shoulder, making her feel even more nervous than she has before. "But just cast away these illusions of your hellish nightmares, and simply remember other things."

"Yes, but—!"

"—just try." The man ordered. "Memory is nothing but a curse then a blessing. I promise you; I will set you free from this suffering…but first, your past must be paid for."

Alice looked into the man's eyes. His cold, dreary eyes that seemed to only be a shell of the man he once was. However that man seems to have died long ago.

"Now, I'd like you to go and pick up those pills from our High street chemist before our next session. Okay?"

"…Very well, doctor."

**/\**

Alice stood within the streets. The fog covered the city with the people living their dreary poor lives within the polluted city of London. Poverty ruled in these early times and no one was above the line; all were within this pit of purgatory. The market place was filled with thievery and the occasional cases of assault, rape, and obviously death.

Alice walked through the market, listening to the people conversating with each other, selling and buying with what little they have.

As she strolled through this poor land of lifelessness, she couldn't help but remember the dreams she's been having. Since the day she appeared in that dreadful orphanage, she's had nothing but sessions with the psychiatrist on her memories of a certain place that must not be named. But in these visions, the same thing is constant—that necklace. And then there was the boy. She felt she was so close to remembering who he was, but…It always escapes her.

"Another day…another dream perhaps…" Alice mumbled.

However, she was quickly ripped from her daydreaming as she felt her body be pushed roughly to the side by a strong push! She looked forward to her rude stranger to see it was a man running away from the market into an alleyway.

"How rude!" Alice said angrily. "The nerve of some people in this town! Of all the—huh?"

Alice quickly checked her ragtag dress pocket, only to find that the money she was to use to purchase her pills had been stolen from her person! She looked forward in anger at the assailant that ran off.

"Thief! Stop!"

And with that Alice took off after the thief in a flash and followed him into the foggy, dark, alleyway that held the place of most kidnapping and unsettling events for young, helpless, maidens. However, Alice was no ordinary maiden.

She followed after this thief as she noticed something…odd about him. This thief seemed to have great vitality to be running off from her with great speed that once she turns an alleyway, he's already at the end of it within seconds. But chasing, she did as she finally reached an unfamiliar part of town that was secluded from the residential area of Market Street.

There, the thief stood within the foggy open area. No one else was present as she panted breathlessly but nevertheless caught up with the thief, red-handed. Upon closer inspection, the thief was dressed in a black hooded coat with the hood over his head.

"I…got you now!" Alice panted. "Now…! Give me my money! It does not belong to you!"

The stranger did nothing. Said nothing. He only stood there, throwing up the money bag, and catching it in a playful manner. Alice's patience was wearing thin and she didn't have the time for games. She's had enough excitement for one day and more than anything needed to rest.

"Excuse me! I need that pouch back immidia—!"

"—yeah, yeah I heard ya."

Alice was caught by surprise. She had no idea that she was in the presence of an American man. This was quite a surprise on her part, but not enough to let her original objective be distracted by it. She then ordered more thoroughly; "I demand you give back that pouch. It doesn't belong to you, and I desperately need it for pills I must take."

"Pills? heh, wow." The man said almost mockingly as he finally gripped the money pouch in his finger less gloved palm. "What happen to you, Alice? When did you let drugs fuck up your memories?"

Alice stood still in that moment of time. The talk of memories and such tend to do that to her. But what really felt unsettling was the mention of her name from the mouth of this mysterious man. How did he know of her name? It was true many of the town folks had knowledge of her name and who she was, but…this man was unfamiliar to her. So why? Why did he know her?

"How…How do you…?"

"Ah, right. I guess it's all blank now, isn't it?" The hooded man said. "I'm not surprised though. After all…it's been a while since…that day."

"That day?"

"Yeah…the day the demons attacked…the day your real wonderland began."

Alice's eyes widened in fear and horror at his words. Now she was more than fearful for her life. Not many people knew of why she was dealing with problems or what the cause of it, and she's no told anyone of this issue she's trying to get over except the doctor. But it would be unprofessional if he let slip anything to strangers. Better yet, how did she even know if he was telling the truth about his words?

"H-How do you know about that?"

"I've seen your memories, Alice. You got some demons." The man raised his free hand and removed his hood, only to reveal a young man with light blue eyes and a stern expression on his face. But what really made him stand out the most was his pure white hair that was short and had a strange finish in the back like a single narrow path going to the nape of his neck.

"Y-Your hair…"

"Scared?"

"No…it's…it's beautiful."

The young man was almost surprised by Alice's reaction. She seemed almost astonished by the color of this young man's pure white hair. Though in a way, he expected such a reaction from her, and could only chuckle at his prediction being right. "Y'know, I kinda had a feelin' you'd react like that. This weird hair color isn't exactly somethin' I like showin' off."

"What do you mean by that?" Alice asked, "And besides, it's not weird. I do believe it's rather nice."

"True…but it's not normal."

"Trust me; I've seen my fair share of abnormal."

"Have you…Then why don't we test that, shall we?"

Finally, the white haired young man turned completely around and faced Alice. Alice finally got a better look at this man, only to find him wearing slacks, combat boots, a tank top, and the coat on his…wait. No…It couldn't be, could it? Was it really there, or was her eyes playing tricks upon her mind once more? It couldn't possibly be so…but it was.

"Y-Your necklace…!" Alice uttered in shock.

"Yes, Alice; Remember. Remember it all."

The white haired man opened the palm where the money sat, and suddenly, that bag of money slowly levitated into the air, ascending above the both of them and slowly opening upon itself. The silver dollar coins slowly seeped out of the small sack and spun in a circular motion around the both of them from above. Alice looked up in a terror-filled emotion as she was slowly seeing the money grow in size, becoming larger by the second.

"W-What is this?" Alice muttered fearfully. She looked back at the man, only to find that he was even closer to her then before! She was obviously startled by this and was about to run off, but she was quickly held captive by the white haired man's arm wrapped around her thin waist, being brought close to him as the coins seemed to merge into one right above then!

"Remember, Alice."

"L-Let go of me!" Alice yelled as she struggled to break free, but the white haired male made that almost impossible for her to do. "P-Please let me go!"

"You gotta trust me on this, Alice." The coated man said. "Just let me help you remember."

"N-No! I don't want to!" Alice cried while struggling to break free. The coin had become a shadowing ceiling over them, blocking any bit of sunlight that poked from the fog. "No! NO! Oh God, please don't!"

"Calm down, it'll be alright." The white haired man said calmly, looking Alice in the eyes sternly.

"I-I don't want to face wonderland again!-!"

"Don't worry. I'll be with you every step of the way this time."

"No! I—!"

"Alice!"

The man's elevated voice quickly froze Alice in her place, his eyes filled with a dark and menacing scowl that was so threatening, that it made the creatures in Wonderland look like a seemingly harmless joke. He quickly calmed himself with a deep sigh. Then he looked into Alice's eyes so tenderly and filled with passion, which she could feel her face heating up at the very sight of his eyes staring into hers.

"Just let me in. And I promise…I'll save you."

Alice looked deep into his eyes to see his true honesty shine brightly. Brighter than any sun could ever be within the sky. She didn't want to go through such a torturing hell once again now that she's so close to escaping such memories…but who was she kidding. She knew these memories would never go away no matter what she did. No matter how much drugs she took or how hard she tried, her memories will never be suppressed. She had to face this here and now; once and for all.

She looked deeply into the man's eyes with a determined look in her eyes and nodded. "I'm ready."

The white haired male smiled and said, "Now that's the Alice I knew…and loved."

Without any warning, the white haired male leaned in quickly, and pressed his lips upon Alice's lips, as she was taken off guard by this, while he was passionate in doing so. She eyed the coin in the sky and saw it coming down quickly!

She closed her eyes tight as she then broke from the kiss at the impact of something hard hitting her in the head, and with that…she was now quickly descending. Her eyes still kept shut tightly, feeling the heavy wind blow as she feel deeper and deeper into a dark madness.

She heard the sounds of voices dancing upon voices, unable to make out what any of them were saying or being able to interpret who was speaking. What was this feeling? This strange feeling that consumed her once more…why was she forced to have to experience this again…this slow and blissfulness of the water…water? Was this like her dream once before? Was this…the river?

She slowly opened her eyes to see the surface of water and the sun shining upon it. It truly was like her dream…or was it her memory? Either way, she knew that this was all too familiar to her.

…

…lice…

…Alice…!

"ALICE!"

She heard it again. That voice…It was him…it was him who called out to her.

"Alice, take my hand!"

She once again looked to the surface to see a hand reach out to her from the surface of the water. Without hesitation, she quickly grabbed that hand as tightly as she could! She was quickly thrust up to the surface as the splash of her rising from the water and was met with the bright blue sky and its heavenly sun.

Upon this, she slowly appeared to be standing right side up again, looking forward at the white haired, black coated male who stood before her, smirking a rather cocky grin. She also noticed that this time, the young man also had a long strange looking sword on his back. "So, how you doin' this fine day?"

"W-What?"

Before Alice could give him a proper answer, she got a better look at her surroundings only to find they both were in a very strange, yet…enchanting world. There were different chucks of grass and tree earth that levitated in the air, siding with the clouds in the distance. There were also the levitating domino pieces that were mused all around the skies along with the chunks of forest Earth. The place they stood was one of those chunks of Earth that had a deep forest to tread through with the most whimsical of imagination slapped onto the forest from over-sized dominos in the babbling brook, to large domino pieces acting as rocks to pass over the water, on to the pathway deeper into the forest.

"Well now…I must say it's good to be back in a familiar place." Alice said in relief.

"Yep, that sounds more like you, Alice." The white haired male smiled, "Like the new look."

Alice got a better look at herself, and found that her hair was better rushed and her skin was now a better complexion of health. Her outfit was now a dark blue dress with an apron on of different lucky signs on it, and black stripped stockings and black heeled shoes. "Well now, it seems I clean up rather well." Alice smiled with a wink. "Do you like it, Dante?"

"Yes you do." The white haired male named Dante smirked, looking her up and down. "Looks like you finally remember me, huh? For a second there, I thought we'd lose you."

"_We_?" Alice questioned.

"_**But of course, Alice dear."**_

Alice turned to the top of her only pathway, only to end up finding a rather familiar face. What appeared was a very skinny surreal cat who was obviously taller and longer then a normal cat, and of course had a wide toothy grin on its face that almost seemed…deranged.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Alice said with a sigh. "And don't you try to bully me this time, you blasted cat. I'm very on edge."

"Trust me, we're gonna need him for this one." Dante told Alice, "Because this time…someone's messin' with your wonderland."

"Who?"

"take a guess…My brother."


End file.
